This invention relates to a bollard and to a method of fixing the bollard to the ground.
In supermarkets and retail stores, objects such as freezers refrigerators, shelving and product displays are susceptible to damage due to collisions with items such as shopping trolleys, floor scrubbers and pallet jacks. For example, freezer and refrigerator cases typically include a glass or transparent plastic door for viewing the products inside without opening the door. The glass can be shattered or the plastic scratched, upon impact with shopping trolleys. Since the body of many of these floor fixtures is constructed of lightweight metals or hardened plastic it can be easily dented or cracked by such impacts. Likewise, in industrial locations such as warehouses and manufacturing facilities, both internally and externally, product storage, doorways and equipment are susceptible to damage due to collisions with heavy equipment, such as delivery vehicles and forklifts.
A bollard protects objects and fixtures from collisions with all types of vehicles. Bollards are commonly employed inside a store to protect store fixtures and outside a store to protect outdoor structures from collisions, to indicate parking areas, to block vehicle and heavy equipment access to a particular area, and to direct flow of traffic. Bollards can also be used to block vehicular access for security reasons.
There are two primary types of bollards; plate-mounted bollards and core-drilled bollards. Plate-mounted bollards conventionally involve a steel plate having three or four bolt holes and a bollard extending perpendicularly from one face of the plate. The plate sits on the floor and bolts are used to fasten the plate, and therefore the bollard, to the floor through the bolt holes. There is no significant disruption to the ground or floor, other than the bolt holes, which are in some instances pre-drilled. On the other hand, core-drilled bollards conventionally require a major disruption to the ground or floor with the creation of a hole two to four feet deep and having a larger diameter than the bollard itself, for example eight inches to two feet, or larger. Concrete is poured into the hole and the bollard is placed in the concrete and held vertically while the concrete cures. In some instances, concrete is also poured into the hollow bollard itself. Installation of a core-drilled bollard is significantly more expensive than with a plate-mounted bollard, and takes significantly more time to complete. However, there are locations where the core-drilled bollard is required due to its ability to absorb larger impacts than the plate-mounted bollard.
Plate-mounted bollards are conventionally utilised in areas where impacts are more likely to be less severe, and involve lighter objects, or where no significant impacts are likely and the bollard serves more as a marker. For example, inside a grocery store in front of a freezer case any impact would likely be from a shopping trolley or floor polisher. Such an impact would be considered to be low-energy, or relatively minor. Accordingly, a plate-mounted bollard would be appropriate for this type of installation. However, in a warehouse with heavy equipment, such as delivery vehicles and forklifts, impacts are more likely to be more severe, or high-energy. A vehicle backing up may accidentally collide with a bollard. Accordingly, a core-drilled bollard would be more appropriate in these types of settings.